Hello all and thanks you for those that commented and left such positive words about Part one. It is my hope that you find part two as much, or even more intriguing than part one. As always, this story takes place in a land of make believe where STDs don't exist, people can fall in love rather easily and quickly.
If I've got any of my "facts" wrong, please feel free to correct me in the comments. If you like the story and would like to see it continue, please let me know. If you don't like it, I'd like to know that as well and why. Again thanks for checking me out and, happy reading!
Part one Recap
At the end of part one, we find that Tiffany Solomon has been instructed to make nice with an ex army commando named Calvin Jefferson who she had recently had a run in with; by her lover and mob boss, Tony Lino.
Lino, who has suffered several huge loses of late finds that he needs a skillful ally to counter what he believes is the rival and much stronger Dellasondro Crime Family making deadly moves against him and he feels that someone like Calvin could be just what he's looking for.
When she approaches him about a "cease fire" of sorts, Calvin reluctantly agrees and, to seal the deal, she goes inside of her apartment to make him a cup of coffee.
The eerie stillness of night is pierced by a blood curdling scream coming from Tiffany's townhome.
Calvin rushed through the unlocked front door to be confronted with the reason behind the scream. A deadly serpent poised to strike at a petrified Tiffany unless Calvin can provide succor.
Chapter One The Townhome of Tiffany Solomon
When Calvin bolted inside after hearing Tiffany scream, he finds her in the perilous position of about to be attacked by a deadly serpent.
A serpent that normally shouldn't even be on American soil outside of a zoo or some type of exhibit.
"I take it that this isn't your snake that has gotten loose?" He asked the terrified woman who was face to face with the Egyptian cobra.
"I...I've never seen this...this thing before." She sobbed. "Please help me."
"I will. I promise you." Calvin assured her. "Tell me, do you have any tongs?"
"Any what?"
"It's a cooking utensil."
"Check...check the drawer behind you."
Without taking his eyes off their antagonist, Calvin reaches behind him and opens the drawer. Briefly, the thought does cross his mind that he could be sticking his hand into a den of other deadly accomplices of the cobra if what he suspects is what is actually going down, but he does so anyway.
After he secures the item that he was fishing for, he takes hold of it and then stealthy makes his way to within striking distance of the snake whom is now poised to strike out at Tiffany's face.
"Please hurry." She pleads.
"Shhhh baby girl. I've got this." He told her as he quickly catches the serpent's head between the business end of the tongs and pulls it away from Tiffany thereby getting her out of immediate danger.
"Oh thank God." She cried in relief.
"Don't think him yet." Calvin said to her. "Call 9-11, Tell them to send out an animal expert. And tell them to hurry." He said to her as he made his way outside. "And also, tell them to tell the cops not to shoot the black guy holding the snake."
"Ok."
Succor arrives rather timely as an officer with experience in dealing with exotic animals arrives on the scene and takes
Possession of the cobra.
The police do a thorough check of the premises to confirm that nothing else quite as deadly is still on the scene. Calvin sat outside at the bus stop and smoked a cigarette while waiting to be questioned.
Since her home was now a possible crime scene and she had to remain outside while police investigated, Tiffany came over to join him.
She sat down beside him and placed her head on his shoulder.
He was a bit taken aback as he knew how this sister felt about black men.
But that didn't stop him from wrapping his arm around her in an effort to let her know that she was protected as she again started to weep.
"It's...it's ok baby girl." He tells her.
"I owe you my life." She told him.
"Then like Superman told John Henry Irons, "make it count for something."
"Who?" She asked.
"Never mind. It was a joke." He said as he defended a line from a comic book.
"How can you joke? I mean, we were both facing death. How are you so calm?"
"That's something I'd like to know as well." The animal expert asked as he made his way out to question the duo. "Anyone else would have shit their pants when confronted with something like that."
"Officer. I've trained in nearly every jungle and desert on earth, from the depths of the African continent to the Australian Outback.
That overgrown lizard was hardly the deadliest thing that I've ever encountered."
"Former military I take it? You know, we could use a man with your skill set on the force."
"Thanks but..."
"He already has a job." Tiffany explained. "He is going to be my personal bodyguard."
"Uh, what she said." Calvin replied.
"Hey! Smoke! You wanna take your hands offa her?" A steely voice with a thick Italian accent said.
Calvin looked up and found himself face to face with Tiffany's lover; mob boss Tony Lino of the mafia crime family that bears his name.
"Take it easy man. I'm not trying to rain on your parade."
The cop/animal expert, recognizes the mobster and decides that he doesn't have the need nor the desire to engage him in a back and forth.
Instead he gives Calvin a card and tells him that if he changes his mind, to please give him a call.
"Tony. He saved my life." Tiffany said to him.
"Is that a fact?" Tony said as he turned to look at the two goons that accompanied him. "Are you Calvin Jefferson?"
"That's the rumor." Calvin replied as Tiffany nudged him to keep him from getting flippant with her mobster boyfriend.
"So you're a smartass huh?" Tony said as he once again looked over his shoulder at his henchmen. "Do you think that's wise? Being a dick for no reason?"
"I don't know Goombah. What do you think?"
"Boss, allow me to teach this prick some manners." One of the goons said to Tony.
"What are you gonna do? Throw him a beating in front of a dozen cops?" Tony said in reply.
"It probably will go just about as well as it did for your two cop friends that you had attack me the other night." Calvin assured him. (See part one)
"Baby." Tiffany said to Tony. "Calvin has agreed to become my bodyguard."
Tony's face lit up. "Oh really? Well, why didn't you say so?"
"Actually, I'm declining." Calvin said to them.
"What? But why? I need you." Tiffany explained as she all but forgot that Tony was even standing there. "I can pay you very well."
Calvin looked upon her with a bit of sympathy. From her perspective it seemed, that the mob has always had her back. But now, they must have appeared to her as a bunch of posturing "tough guys" who also needed protection.
Which was one of the reasons that Tony had wanted her to make nice with Calvin in the first place.
"Because Tiffany, taking money from you, ultimately means taking money from him." Calvin said as he pointed at Tony. "And I don't take blood money."
"Blood money?" Tony said with incredulity. "What the fuck makes you better than me? You probably have a body count longer than my fucking dick. The government gave you a license to kill. I wonder how many innocent people have you whacked out along the way?"
Calvin found himself loosing control of his anger. How he wanted to wipe that smug look off the face of this...this criminal!
But the sad truth was that Tony Lino was correct. He had more kills than any single mafioso in history.
So of the two, who had taken or was really taking blood money?
"You're 100% on point, Mr. Lino. I can't, or won't even deny it." He said as he stood up and looked Tony in the eye. "But here is where you and I part company.
I haven't slept a full 6 hours since the first time I pulled the trigger and ended a life, innocent or not.
But if I were a betting man, I'd say that you have done likewise over the course of your "career" and you sleep just fine don't you?"
Chapter two a few days later at the mini mart.
She had been busy in the kitchen all day...
Smoked turkey wings, mustard greens, candy yams, rice and black eyed peas.
He is black, correct? So he has to like this type of food. Tony Lino always made her prepare Italian dishes that consisted of manicotti, or ravioli, or some other style of pasta.
She goggled "soul food" in order to see if she could cook something special for her reluctant savior.
She walked in while he rang up a regular customer who had taken a shine to him.
"Lord! When I talk to you. It's like my son is still alive." The elderly woman stated. "He died in the Beirut Baracks bombing. He didn't die that day, but shortly afterwards."
"I'm...so sorry to hear that ma'am." Calvin replied. "Any serviceman who dies in service of his country is a tragedy."
"Yes." She replied. "But fortunately, I can come here and talk to you." The grandmotherly black woman replied.
"Feel free anytime." He said to her.
The elderly woman turned to see Tiffany standing there in a yellow sun dress, white pumps, with a plate covered in foil. She instinctively knew that she was there for Calvin and her smile and nod at both of them laid that out perfectly.
"Oh me oh my!" The woman said. "Don't the two of you make a cute couple? Son, you'd better hold onto this one. Not many black women value the idea of cooking for a blackman."
Calvin chuckled a bit. "Thank you Ms.Nelms, I'll take that under advisement."
But before Tiffany could approach, she was cutoff by a blonde statuesque scantily clad white female who appeared to have taken a liking to the black store clerk.
"Hey Cal." The blond woman said. "Have you given anymore thought to my offer?"
"The trip to Bora Bora? Yeah, I'm a hard pass on that." He replied.
"Well, that's unfortunate. Daddy has the yacht and villa already approved for us."
"I'm sorry."
"Well...if you change your mind..."
"I won't."